Automatic clutch



1,556,972 H. P. STEVENS ET AL AUTOMATIC CLUTCH Filed Nov. 8. 1924 A TTORNEYS Patented Oct. 13,1925.

{UNITED STAT-ss- .mBY P. mvans AND PATENT-T: OFFICE.

wnwmor a. xenon, or N'IW roan, a. r.

Auromarrc env ron.

Application filed November 8, 1924. Serial ll'o. 748,088.

of Manhattan, city, county, and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Automatic Clutches,

of which the following is a full, clear, consubstantially on the line 55 of Fig. 4; and

cise, and exact description.

Our invention relates particularly to clutch devices in which a driven member is controlled by a driving member, in such a manner that when the driving member is moved or rotated in one direction or in either of two directions, the parts will be locked together, while on the other hand when there is no driving motion transmitted from the driving part to the driven art, the respective parts will be held firm tive positions;

Our invention is particularly adapted for use with window raising and lowering devices. of the type used on closed automobile bodies, whereln the windows are usually operated b rotatinga crank within the car. In suc devices it is very important that the windows may be raised and lowered freely and easily and, at the same time, when it is desired to leave the windows in any positionfieitherfully open or closed, or artly open, the operatin' parts will be held rmly in position and wfil not be displaced by the motion of the car passing over rough portions of the road;

For a detailed description of the various modifications of our lmproved automatic clutch, reference may be had to the follow-' ing specification and the accompanying drawings forming a part thereof, in which- Fig. 1 is a si e e evation, partly in section of a sim 1e form of our device illustratmg the mam principle thereof;

Fig. 2 is a similar view of another form, partly in section, in which the connection between the driving and driven members is brought about in either of two rotary directions;

F i 3 is a transverse sectional view on the line 3-43 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is an elevational view of another form of our device particularly shown artly in section and adapted for application to means for raising and lowering windows in automobile bodies above referred to.

Fig. 5 is a transverse sectional view taken y in their rela- Fig. 6 is an elevational view showingthe connectlons necessary for adap ting our improved clutch to a window raising and lowering device of the usual type, the front part of the casing being removed.

Referring to ig. l'of the. drawings the numeral 1 indicates a shaft or driving member, to which isrigidly fastened by a set screw 2, or any suitable means, a disc 3 carrymg a collar 4. The collar 4 carries a radially projecting arm'5 adapted to engage a stop 6 extending laterally from an annular member 7 which fitsrotatively about the disc 3 and fits accurately but also rotatively within the driven member 8, which, is annular as indicated and may constitute a gear as indicated by the teeth 9, or may be a fixed or stationary member as indicated at 10, if it be desired to allow the shaft 1 to rotate in one direction only.

It will be noted that the disc 3 is eccentrically located within the annular member 7 but that the axis of the shaft 1 is concentric with the axis of the driven member 8.

The operation of this device is as follows: Assuming that the shaft 1 and the disc 3 are bein% rotated in the direction of the arrows in ig. 1, the arm 5 will bear against the stop 6. This will cause shaft 1, the disc 3 and the annulus 7 to rotate together within the annular gear 8, and there will be no interconnection between the driven shaft and the gear 8, or the fixed ring 10.

On the other hand, when the shaft 1, the

disc 3' and the arm 5 are rotated in a direction opposite to that indicated by the arrows in Fig. 1, the arm 5 will travel toward the right hand, allowing a relative motion firmly bind the disc 3,annulus 7 and gear 8 together, thereby forming a positively op-' erating clutch which will cause all of the said parts to rotate together inthe same direction.- Any device which it is desired to drive by means of the gear 8 will therefore be rotated. If, instead of the ear 8, a fixed ring 10 is used, the driving s aft 1 will be permitted to rotate in the direction indi-. cated by the arrow in Fig. 1, but will be stopped from rotating in the opposite direction, sincethe connection between the-eccentric disc 3, the annulus 7 and the fixed member 10 will immediately become oper- .base

ated to form an efiective brake in of a ratchet The above description explains the general rinciple upon which our invention is d: and the parts so described may be applied to various devices in which the effects referred to are desired.

Referring now to Fig. 3, the parts therein indicated are so arranged as to. constitute a clutch for moving the driven part in either direction, but when not operative as a clutch the parts will be effectively locked in a stationary position, so that the driven member cannotbe moved by the parts with which it is connected.

Referring to Figs. 3 and 4, the numeral 12 indicates a suitable casing between the plates of which is carried a rotatable shaft 13, which rotatably carries on one end thereof a driving member such as a gear 14. This driving member also carries a laterally projecting pin 15. The shaft 13 also carries a driven member, such as the gear 16,

which is free to rotate'thereon or may be attached ri 'dly-thereto-if preferred. The driven mem r 16 has a laterally projecting circular ortion 18 which is eccentric to' the axis of t e shaft 13. Surrounding the eccentric portion 18 of the driven member 16 is a fixed .drum or annular flange 19, and between the flange 19 and eccentric rojection-18 are located two curvedw es 20 and 21, which correspond on their inner and outer surface with the surfaces of the eccentric projection 18 and the inner surface of the flange 19, respectively. The driven member or gear 16 carries a laterally projecting pin 22 adapted to project into the space between the driven member 16 and the driving member 14, as. clearly indicated in Fi 3. A U-shaped spring 23 has its ends xed, respectively, in the ends of the curved wedges 20 and 21, and tends to ex.- pand and keep said wedges separated so that the same are forced with some slight pressure between the eccentric portion 18 of the driven member and the-fixed flange 19.

The operation of the device above described will be explained as follows: When .the' parts are in the position indicated in Fig. 2, any tendency of external force to move the gear or member 16 will be prevented, because the curved wedges 20 and 21 effectively clamp the eccentric member 18 in a fixed position, owing to the action of the spring 23 in forcing the wedges into their wedging position. On the other hand,

. however, should the driving member 14 be rotated counter-clockwise as in Fig. 2, the pin 15 will move toward the right, as indicated at 15 until it strikes the smaller end of the curved wedge 21. Thereafter said curved wedge will be moved with the motion of the pin 15 until its upper or larger end strikes the pin 22. During this motion toward the the nature.

right the in 15 has loosened the wedge so that. its ho ding action is no longer effective against the flange 19, and as soon as its per end strikes the pin 22 the motion of driving member 14 and the driven member curved wedge 20, which will simply follow the motion of the eccentric portion '18 without any substantial retarding action.

The preferred modification indicated in Figs. 4, 5 and 6 operates in a similar manner to that shown in Figs. 2 and 3, butthe construction is slightl different. The form shown in Figs. 4 an 5, and when applied to a window raising and lowering device, as in Fig. 6, comprises a driving member or gear 14, a driven member or sprocket wheel 16 and an eccentric projection 18, all mounted on the shaft as described in connection with Figs. 2 and 3. The expansion spring 23 is alsoinserted between the ends of similglrly curved wedges 20 and 21. However, t e

in which projects from the driving I mem r 14 is somewhat longer, as indicated at 24, and enters into a slot or groove 25 in the driven member 16.

The operation of this form of device is as follows: When the parts are in the position indicated in Fig. 4, the driven member 16 will be held firmly int osition by the action of the spring 23 in arcing the wedges 20 and 21 between the eccentric portion 18 of the driven member and the fixed flanges 19. However, when the member 14 is moved in the direction of the arrow in Fig. 4, the pin 24 will first strike the lower end of the wedge 21 and move it out of its wedging position. Further movement of the pin 24 will cause it to strike the end of the slot 25 in the driven member 16 and thereafter the driving member and driven member will rotate together, as described in connection with the orm of the device in Figs. 2 and 3.

In applying this form of device to the window raising and lowering mechanism shown in Fig. 6, the driven member is a. sprocket wheel 26 which is engaged by a sprocket chain 27, the lower end of which is connected directly with the glass or frame of the window. The opposite end of the sprocket chain 27 is connected with a counter' balancing drum 28 which contains a s iral spring, as is' well known in the art.

he driving member or gear 14 is adapted to engage a pinion 29 which-is rotated by the usual handle or crank 30.

Having in mind the operation of the deviceas described in connection with Figs. 4 and 5, it will be seen that when the handle 30 is rotated toward the left, as in Fig. 6, the gear 14 will be rotated counter-clockwise, and when the pin 24 reaches the end adapted tov braking member, wedging members between of the slot 25 the sprocket wheel 26 will also be rotated and the sprocket chain 27 operated to raise the window. A reverse motion of the handle allows the window to descend or open, but when the handle 30 is not moved in either direction, the wedges 20 and 21 will lock the sprocket wheel 26 in position regardless of the motion of the automobile along the road, which would otherwise tend to displace the position of the window and parts connected therewith.

Having'thus described this form of our invention, we do not wish to be understood as being limited to the details of form and the exact relation of the parts set forth, for

various changes may be made by thoseskilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of our invention. What we claim and desire to protect by Letters Patent is:

1. An antomatic clutch, comprising a retary driving member, a member adapted to be rigidly connected therewith, an intermediate curved wedging member, said wedging member being adapted to become operative. when said driving member is moved in one direction, and means carried by said driving member for holding said wedging member out of operative positions when said. driving member is rotated in the opposite direction.

2. An automatic clutch, com rising a rotary driving member, a member adapted to be rigidly connected therewith, intermediate se for holding said wedging members in operative position, and means operated b said driving member for forcing one 0 said wedging members out of operative position when said driving member is rotated in either direction. U

3. An automatic clutch, comprising a rotary drivin member, a driven member connected therewith, a fixed said fixed member and said driving member, means for holding said wedging members in operative positions, means extending between said driving member and said driven member and adapted to force one of said wedging members out of operative osition.

when rotated in either direction an to rotate said driven member.

ental wedg'ing members, means 4. An automatic clutch, comprising a r0- tary driving member, a driven member adapted to be connected therewith, a fixed braking member, curved wedges between said fixed member and said driving member, resilient means for holding said wedges in operative positions, means operated by said driven member and adapted to force one of said wedges out of operative position when rotated in either direction and to rotate said driven member.

5. An automatic clutch, comprising a re- .tary drivin member, a driven member adapted to e connected therewith, a fixed braking member, curved we es between said fixed member and said driving member an expanding spring for holding said wed s in operative positions, 7 means extending between said driving member and said driven member to form a driving connection therebetween and located to force one of said wedges out of operative osition when rotated in either direction y said driving member.

6. An automatic clutch, comprising a rotary driving member, an eccentric art carried thereby, a fixed braking mem er, segmented curved wedges between said part and said braking member, a spring for bold ing saidwedges in operative positions, means 'extendin'gbetween saiddriving member and said driven member to form a driving connection therebetween and located to force one of said wedges'out of operative position when rotated in either direction by said driving'member. 7 An automatic clutch, comprising a rotar driving member, an eccentric part carrie thereby, a fixed braking part, segmental curved wedgesbetween said eccentric and brakingparts, a spring for holding said wedges in. operativev sitions, a pin carried 'by saiddriving mem r and adapted to engage said wedges to force either one thereof out of operatlve position when rotated in either direction, said driven member being provided with a sto portion against which said pin is adapt to bear to' rotate said driven member.

Signed this 1st day of November, 1924.

HARRY P. STEVENS. wm'rnnor s. HORTON. 

